American Autowire Classic Update Series Kit - New Connections

Burning plastic, short circuits, and a tangled mess of wires are what come to mind if you’ve considered completely rewiring your Chevy. Aftermarket wiring kits claim to make it easier to completely replace your vehicle’s wiring system from headlights to taillights, but the thought of making even one wrong mistake, or a bad connection, is the reason why most won’t even attempt it. Complicate things with the addition of a modern drivetrain, digital gauges, and electrical engine sensors, which were never a part of the original vehicle’s wiring system, and the whole scenario sounds like a custom wiring job might be necessary.

2/24

So when it came time to rewire our Project F73 Camaro, we encountered the same concerns many enthusiasts face when they own a vehicle that is equipped with a combination of original parts, and aftermarket components, such as a transmission with a Vehicle Speed Sensor, dual electric fans, high-flow electric fuel pumps, and in our case, a new Auto Meter Digital Street Dash that replaced the factory instrument cluster.

It was obvious an OEM replacement wiring kit wouldn’t work and we didn’t want to rely on old technology either. So while looking into aftermarket kits, we discovered the advantages that an American Autowire Classic Update Series Kit provided. The company’s ’70-73 Camaro Classic Update wiring kit (PN 510034) includes a modern-style fuse panel that updates the system from the old glass fuses, to modern ATO fuses. The fuse panel and bulkhead connector fit exactly into the original location on the Camaro’s firewall, so no modifications are necessary.

3/24

We used American Autowire’s Update Kit (PN-510034) that features additional prewired connections for aftermarket items, such as gauges, heating and air conditioning units, or any other 12V powered accessory we want to add later.

But what we really liked about this wiring kit is that it comes complete with everything you need to rewire the entire vehicle. We also liked that each wire is color coded and labeled every few inches, so there’s never any guessing or having to constantly refer to a schematic to see what it’s for and where it goes. The schematics and diagrams that are included with the kit are color coded and use illustrations, making the task of rewiring each section of the vehicle easy to understand. Most importantly, doing it section by section also means you don’t feel like you bit off more than you could chew.

But perhaps the beauty of the American Autowire kit is that it’s designed to be used with aftermarket products such as gauges, heating and air conditioning systems, steering columns, and more. This made it easy for us to adapt our Auto Meter Digital Dash and easily couple it to the various engine sensors and the transmission’s VSS output wiring without any splicing or custom routing. This particular kit also comes with a replacement headlight switch with an internal 30-amp circuit breaker, a new headlight dimmer foot-switch, and original switch connector bodies that really make the entire wiring job more reliable.

MORE PHOTOS

VIEW FULL GALLERY

xclose

American Autowire Classic Update Series Kit - New Connections

The underside of our Camaro’s dash may look like a jumbled mess of wires, but take a second look. You’ll see that the American Autowire harness is completely organized, color-coded, and features GM plugs that easily connect to our aftermarket steering column and more.

The underside of our Camaro’s dash may look like a jumbled mess of wires, but take a second look. You’ll see that the American Autowire harness is completely organized, color-coded, and features GM plugs that easily connect to our aftermarket steering column and more.

We used American Autowire’s Update Kit (PN-510034) that features additional prewired connections for aftermarket items, such as gauges, heating and air conditioning units, or any other 12V powered accessory we want to add later.

The original fuse panel uses old glass-style fuses. Any new 12V-powered accessory would be a problem if you wanted to add it to the OEM system.

The original fuse panel uses old glass-style fuses. Any new 12V-powered accessory would be a problem if you wanted to add it to the OEM system.

It’s important to also start off with the proper tools. A&E recommends using wire cutters/crimpers and wire strippers to ensure proper connections are made.

One of the great things about the American Autowire kit is that each section of the wiring job is divided into individual kits. For example, this front headlight kit has a colored diagram and all the correct GM connectors to make a clean installation, one area at a time.

The American Autowire kit also upgrades to ATO-style fuses that are much more reliable and easily accessible.

This kit also includes a replacement headlight switch with an internal 30-amp circuit breaker, for more reliable performance and to be able to handle modern higher-intensity and amperage headlights.

Every wire in the entire kit from the main harness to the smaller component harnesses are all properly color coded and labeled.

Diagrams are clearly illustrated in color and make it simple to understand where each wire goes and what connector to use.

The new fuse panel is clearly marked for OEM components as well as upgrades. It’s a little larger than the factory unit, but it still fits nicely under the dash.

All of the harness connectors, like this steering column connector, make it easy to simply plug in and use.

Additional connectors are already in place if you want to add other accessories, such as an aftermarket air conditioning unit, a modern radio, and so on. If you don’t use them, simply wind them up, tie them with a zip tie, and tuck it away under the dash.

It’s also important to carefully plan out how you are routing portions of the harness. Here the rear harness is routed from the fuse box along the factory doorsill and out to the trunk area.

Whenever applicable, we used the factory wire harness braces and tabs to properly route the wiring along the interior of the vehicle.

New light bulb sockets are already included and pigtailed into the kit. This makes it very easy to install and eliminates any short circuits in the old factory sockets.

New light bulb sockets are already included and pigtailed into the kit. This makes it very easy to install and eliminates any short circuits in the old factory sockets.

The bulkhead connector fits into the factory hole on the firewall. This makes it very easy to start attaching the engine harness.

Because our Camaro is using an Auto Meter Digital Dash, there were many engine sensors and temperature senders that needed to be wired. Fortunately, the American Autowire kit already provided leads for these, making it easy to attach.

Extra leads for items we wouldn’t be using right now, like this A/C condenser switch wire, were simply wound up and will be tucked away. If we decide to install an A/C unit later, we won’t regret cutting this wire out of the harness.

The American Autowire kit made it much simpler to connect all the input leads to our Auto Meter Digital Dash that replaces the entire OEM instrument cluster on the Camaro.

Modern accessories, such as this relay for our AutoRad dual fan and radiator, were already prewired into the Autowire Update kit.

Because we didn’t have the fenders on the Camaro, we left the front headlight wires extra long. You can see how they’re clearly marked and leaving the extra length will allow routing them differently to hide the wires and keep the engine compartment looking clean. CHP

Improving your car's performing by way of circuit rewiring can seem daunting at first, but you dont have to be an electrical expert to get this done. Click here for more details or check out the June issue of Super Chevy Magazine » Read More

Check out this 1973 Chevrolet Camaro Project F73 that is in it's final assembly stages. Read more only at www.chevyhiperformance.com, the official website for Chevy High Performance Magazine! » Read More